Inverter made of complementary p and n channel transistors using a single directly-deposited microcrystalline silicon film

ABSTRACT

A p channel thin-film transistor (TFT) made of directly deposited microcrystalline silicon (uc-Si). The p TFT is integrated with its n channel counterpart on a single uc-Si film, to form a complementary metal-silicon oxide-silicon (CMOS) inverter of deposited uc-Si. The uc-Si channel material can be grown at lower temperatures by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition in a process similar to the deposition. The p and n channels share the same uc-Si layer. The Figure shows the processing steps of manufacturing the TFT, where ( 12 ) represents the uc-Si layer of the device.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 60/133,372 filed May 10, 1999. This application is incorporated herein by reference.

GOVERNMENT RIGHTS

The present invention has been made under a contract by the New Jersey Commission of Science and Technology and DARPA and the government may have certain rights to the subject invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention generally relates to the fabrication of large area electronic products, and more specifically to the fabrication of complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuits for add-on electronics for application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), at low temperatures by directly depositing microcrystalline thin-film silicon (μC-Si).

2. Related Art

It is known how to make CMOS circuits at temperatures in excess of 600° C., which is the lowest temperature at which polycrystalline films can be made by thermal crystallization. These films are then processed to CMOS circuits.

An ultralow-temperature, large-area silicon technology that could furnish a tool kit of standard devices, including transistors, rectifying diodes and photodiodes is of great interest for applications in macroelectronics, and in add-on electronics for application-specific integrated circuits. The latter application of the process temperature expands the applicability of macroelectronics. A widely usable ultralow-temperature technology needs p channel and n channel field-effect transistors (FETs), which are the building blocks for complementary digital circuits n channel FETs made of directly deposited microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) indeed have been reported by: T. Nagahara, K. Fuiimoto. N. Kohno. Y. Kashiwapi and H. Kakinoki, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 31, 4555 (1992); J. Woo, H. Lim and J. Jane, Appl. Phys. Lett. 65, 1644 (1994); H. Meiling, A. M. Brockhoff J. K. Rath and R.E.I. Schropr), Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 508, 31 (1998); and Y. Chen and S. Wagner, Electrochem. Soc. Proc. 98-22, 221 (1998). The fabrication of solar cells of μc-Si suggests that useful hole mobilities can be obtained in μc-Si. However, no p channel thin film transistors (TFTs):have been made of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), which is an efficient solar cell material.

What would be desirable, but has not heretofore been developed, is a method of fabricating macroelectronic devices and ASICs at low temperatures by directly depositing μc-Si and integrating a p channel TFT with an n channel TFT to form an inverter.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a method of making large area electronic devices at low temperatures.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of making CMOs circuits at low temperatures.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of making TFTs by directly depositing μc-Si.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a method of integrating p channel and n channel TFTs to form an inverter.

It is even a further object of the present invention to provide a method for making p channel and n channel transistors from the same film of μc-Si.

It is even an additional object of the present invention to provide a TFT wherein the p and n channels share a single μc-Si layer.

A p channel TFT is made of directly deposited microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si). The p TFT is integrated with its n channel counterpart on a single μc-Si film, to form a complementary metal-silicon oxide-silicon (CMOS) inverter of deposited μc-Si. The μc-Si channel material can be grown at low temperatures by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition in a process similar to the deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Either the p⁺ or n⁺layers can be grown and patterned, and then the other can be deposited and patterned. The p and n channels share the same μc-Si layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other important objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following Detailed Description of the Invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1A-1F are schematic views of the process sequence for the microcrystalline silicon CMOS inverter according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show the transfer characteristics of the (a) p channel μc-Si TFT, and (b) n channel μc-Si TFT of the CMOS inverter according to FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows the voltage transfer characteristics of a CMOS inverter made of μc-Si according to FIG. 1. The p channel and n channel TFTs have identical channel dimensions: V_(DD)=30 V and V_(SS)=−20 V.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to ultralow-temperature semiconductor technology based on directly deposited μc-Si. One aspect of the invention is the successful fabrication of p channel thin-film transistors deposited at 320° C. and processed at a maximum temperature of 280° C. Another aspect of the invention is the integration of this p channel TFT, with an n channel TFT to an inverter to create a complementary metal-oxide-silicon (CMOS) circuit made of microcrystalline silicon.

The μc-Si CMOS process of the present invention is described with reference to FIG. 1. Both the p type and the n type TFT use one single directly deposited μc-Si layer 12 as the conducting channel. The μc-Si channel material 12 can be grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) in a process similar to the deposition of a-Si:H. The undoped channel and the p⁺ and n⁺ contact layers, 14 and 20 respectively, can be grown by PECVD. The SiO₂ gate dielectric 16 can also be grown by PECVD. Corning 7059 glass can be used as the substrate 10. The channel layers of undoped i μc-Si can be grown by DC excitation of a mixture of SiH₄, SiF₄ and H₂. Adding SiF₄ to the source gas provides a large deposition space than deposition from H₂-diluted SiH₄ alone. The growth rate was 0.6 Å/s at a power density of 160 mW/cm². The dark conductivity of the i μc-Si is 1×10⁻⁷ S/cm, and its thermal activation energy is 0.55eV. The p⁺ and n² source/drain contact layers were grown from SiH₄, H₂, and B₂H₆ or PH₃ by RF excitation at 13.56 MHz. Their dark conductivities are 0.01 S/cm (p⁺ μc-Si) and 20 S/cm (n⁺ μc-Si). Growth parameters are listed in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Deposition parameters for the undoped microcrystalline silicon of the TFT channels, the dopes source/drain contact layers, and the SiO₂ used for isolation. SiH₄ H₂ SiF₄ PH₃, B₂H₆, Temp. Power Pressure Film Layer (sccm) (sccm) (sccm) Or N₂O (sccm) (° C.) density (m Torr) thickness (nm) μc-Si 1 200 20 0 360 160 900 300 p⁻ μc-Si 2 100 0 50 280 324 900 60 n⁻ μc-Si 2 100 0 12 280 324 900 60 SiO₂ 35 0 0 160 250 85 400 200

The TFTs were made in the top-gate configuration shown in FIGS. 1A-1F. The CMOS inverter is made of a p channel TFT and an n channel TFT of identical structure. A six-level mask process with specially designed masks was used in the inverter fabrication. First, 300 nm of i μc-Si and 60 nm of p⁺ μc-Si layer 12 were grown on the substrate 10 without breaking vacuum. Next, as shown in FIG. 1A, the p⁺ μc-Si source and drain for the p channel TFT 14 were patterned using reactive ion etching (RIE) with 10% O₂ and 90% CCl₂F₂. As shown in FIG. 1B, the deposition of a layer of 200 nm isolation SiO₂ 16 followed. Referring to 16, a window 18 in the SiO₂ was opened using buffered oxide etch (BOE) to deposit a 60 nm n⁺ μc-Si layer. After RIE patterning of the n⁺ μc-Si source and drain for the n channel TFT 20, the SiO₂ layer was removed with BOE (FIG. 1D), and followed by the definition of the i μc-Si island using RIE. Then, as shown in FIG. 1E, 200 nm SiO₂ 16 was deposited as gate insulator, and the SiO₂ gate was patterned and contact holes opened to the n and p channel TFT source and drain using BOE. Then, as shown in FIG. 1F, Al 22 was thermally evaporated and patterned using a wet-etch to form the gate, source and drain electrodes of the n and p channel TFTs, as well as the metal interconnects between the two gates, and the p TFT drain in the n TFT source. Other metals or alloys, such as Al, Cr, Cu, Ti, Mo, or Ta, and their alloys could be used to form the electrodes. The pull-up p channel TFT and pull-down n channel TFT have 180-μm long channels. These large dimensions result from use of a laser printer for mask molding.

FIG. 2 shows the transfer characteristics of the p channel and n channel TFTs of the inverter. The ON current ION is defined as the drain current I_(d) at a current, both at a drain voltage of V_(ds) of (− or +) 10 V. FIG. 2A shows a p channel TFT ON/OFF current ration of >10³, a threshold voltage V_(TH) of −16 V, and a subthreshold slope S of 2.7 V/dec. The hole field-effect mobilities μ_(h) Of the p channel TFT extracted from the linear and saturated regimes are 0.023 and 0.031 cm²/Vs, respectively. The ON/OFF current ration of the n channel TFT of FIG. 2B is˜10⁴, its V_(TH) is 3 V, and S=4.2 V/dec. The electron field-effect mobilities μ_(n) of the n channel TFT extracted from the linear and saturated regimes are 0.72 and 1.0 cm²Ns, respectively. These in μ_(n) values lie substantially below those obtained in a separately fabricated μc-Si n channel TFT. We ascribe the reduction in field-effect mobility to the unoptimized process sequence for CMOS inverter fabrication, which also is reflected in the values for V_(TH) and S.

The voltage transfer characteristic of the CMOS inverter made of the pull-up p channel TFT and the pull-down n channel TFT is shown in FIG. 3 for supply voltages of V_(dd)=30 V and V_(ss)=−20 V. The inverter exhibits a nearly full rail-to-rail swing, and an abrupt and well-defined voltage transfer characteristic with a gain of 7.2. The output HIGH is about 90% of the full voltage range and the output LOW is at the same voltage as V_(ss).

Thus, the present invention introduces a new digital device and circuit technology based on directly deposited microcrystalline thin-film silicon. Its maximum process temperature of 320° C. is ideally suited to glass substrates, and of course is suitable to more refractory substrates such as steel. It also is suited as a complementary metal-oxide-silicon (CMOS) technology for add-on circuits to application-specific integrated circuits (ASICS):

Having thus described the invention in detail, it is to be understood that, the foregoing description is not intended to limit the spirit and scope thereof. What is desired to be protected by. Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing a CMOS inverter comprising: providing a substrate; growing i μc-Si layer on the substrate; growing p⁺ μc-Si on the i μc-Si layer; patterning the p⁺ μc-Si source and drain for p channel TFT; depositing isolation SiO₂ over the p channel TFT; forming a window in the isolation SiO₂; depositing an n⁺ μc-Si layer on the i μc-Si layer through the window; patterning the n⁺ μc-Si source and drain for n channel TFT; removing the isolation SiO₂ layer; defining an i μc-Si island; depositing SiO₂ as a gate insulator;, patterning the SiO₂ gate; opening contact holes to the n and p channel TFT source and drain; and evaporating and patterning metal to form gate source and drain electrodes of the n and p channel TFTs, and metal interconnects between the gates.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the substrate is glass.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the metal gate source and drain electrodes are made from one or more of the group comprising Al, Cr, Cu, Ti, Mo, Ta and their alloys.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein patterning the p⁺ μc-Si is performed by reactive ion etching.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein reactive ion etching is conducted with 10% O₂ and 90% CCl₂F₂.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the window in the isolation SiO₂ is opened with buffered oxide etch.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the island is formed by reactive ion etching.
 8. A method of manufacturing a CMOS inverter comprising: providing a substrate; growing i μc-Si layer on the substrate; growing n⁺ μc-Si on the i μc-Si layer; patterning the n⁺ μc-Si source and drain for n channel TFT; depositing isolation SiO₂ over the n channel TFT; forming a window in the isolation SiO₂; depositing an ^(p+) μc-Si layer on the i μc-Si layer through the window; patterning the p⁺ μc-Si source and drain for p channel TFT; removing the isolation SiO₂ layer; defining an i μc-Si island; depositing SiO₂ as a gate insulator; patterning the SiO₂ gate; opening contact holes to the n and p channel TFT source and drain; and evaporating and patterning metal to form gate source and drain electrodes of the n and p channel TFTs, and metal interconnects between the gates.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein the substrate is glass.
 10. The method of claim 8 wherein the metal gate source and drain electrodes are made from one or more of the group comprising Al, Cr, Cu, Ti, Mo, Ta and their alloys.
 11. The method of claim 8 wherein patterning the p⁺ μc-Si is performed by reactive ion etching.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein reactive ion etching is conducted with 10% O₂ and 90% CCl₂F₂.
 13. The method of claim 8 wherein the window in the isolation SiO₂ is opened with buffered oxide etch.
 14. The method of claim 8 wherein the island is formed by reactive ion etching.
 15. A method of manufacturing a CMOS inverter comprising: providing a substrate; growing i μc-Si layer on the substrate; growing and patterning one of a p⁺ or n⁺ μc-Si on the i μc-Si layer; depositing and patterning the other of an n⁺ or p⁺ μc-Si on the i μc-Si layer; depositing SiO₂ as a gate insulator; patterning the SiO₂ gate; opening contact holes in n and p channel TFT source and drain; and evaporating and patterning metal to form gate source and drain electrodes of the n and p channel TFTs and metal interconnects between the gates.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein the metal gate source and drain electrodes are made from one or more of the group comprising Al, Cr, Cu, Ti, Mo, Ta and their alloys.
 17. A complementary metal-silicon oxide-silicon (CMOS) inverter comprising: a substrate; a microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) layer on the substrate; a p channel thin film transistor (TFT) on the μc-Si film; an n channel TFT on the μc-Si film; a patterned gate insulator on the n and p channel TFTs; and metal gate source and drain electrodes interconnected with the n and p channel TFTs.
 18. The CMOS inverter of claim 17 wherein the metal gate source and drain electrodes are made from one or more of the group comprising Al, Cr, Cu, Ti, Mo, Ta and their alloys.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising an island in the μc-Si layer separating the n and p channel TFTs. 